The Evergreen State College invites the public to the Willi Unsoeld Seminar with guest speaker Dr. Jerry Franklin on Friday, May 14 at the college's Longhouse. The reception starts at 6 p.m. and is followed by Franklin's presentation at 7 p.m. on "The Effects of Globalization of the Wood Products Industry on Forests and Forestry in North America: The Scarcely Glimpsed 600-Lb. Gorilla." The evening is free and open to the public. Campus parking is $1.25.

Franklin, dubbed the "guru of old growth," is a professor with the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington in Seattle. At the age of four his love for trees surfaced, and by nine, Franklin decided he would be a forester. He describes his mission as "cutting the best deal I can for forests and trees in a world dominated by humans." Today he is regarded as one of the pioneers of forest ecosystem research.

Franklin's specialties are the structure and function of natural forest ecosystems, especially old-growth stands, and how forests recover from catastrophes. He teaches ecosystem analysis at UW and is the director of the Wind River Canopy Crane Research near the Columbia Gorge, which is operated by University of Washington, Pacific Northwest Research Station and Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Franklin serves as a consultant and land steward for sustainable forestry projects in southern Chile and Argentina.

An award-winning scientist, Franklin has received the leadership in action award from the U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology and an honorary degree of doctor of laws from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. He has also published extensively on forest ecosystems and biodiversity. He earned bachelor and master of science degrees in forest management from Oregon State University, and a doctorate in botany and soils from Washington State University.

The annual Willi Unsoeld Seminar honors the philosopher, theologian and mountaineer who was a founding member of the Evergreen faculty. Before Unsoeld died in an avalanche on Mount Rainier in March 1979, he inspired thousands of Evergreen